Oliar, Pattison and Powell (2014)
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Source Details
Oliar, Pattison and Powell (2014) | |
Title: | Copyright Registrations: Who, What, When, Where, and Why |
Author(s): | Oliar, D., Pattison, N., Powell, K. R. |
Year: | 2014 |
Citation: | Oliar, D., Pattison, N., & Powell, K. R. (2013). Copyright Registrations: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Tex. L. Rev., 92, 2211. |
Link(s): | Definitive , Open Access |
Key Related Studies: | |
Discipline: | |
Linked by: | Brauneis and Oliar (2016), Oliar (2017) |
About the Data | |
Data Description: | The data for this study were gathered from the U.S. Copyright Office’s online, searchable database of copyright registrations. A program was used to systematically download registrations 2008–2012. The authors excluded Pre-registrations and Recorded Documents, and also any works that did not have a Registration Number or Date of Registration. The final data set consisted of 2,316,167 registrations. |
Data Type: | Primary data |
Secondary Data Sources: | |
Data Collection Methods: | |
Data Analysis Methods: | |
Industry(ies): | |
Country(ies): | |
Cross Country Study?: | No |
Comparative Study?: | No |
Literature review?: | No |
Government or policy study?: | No |
Time Period(s) of Collection: |
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Funder(s): |
Abstract
The registration records at the U.S. Copyright Office provide a valuable lens on the use and performance of the copyright system, but have not yet been studied systematically. Using an original data set containing all 2.3 million registrations from 2008 to 2012, we provide a snapshot of current patterns of registration. We describe who is registering what, where, when, and why. Our main findings include the types of work being registered, how the registrations of individuals and firms differ, when works are being registered relative to their date of creation and date of publication, the age distribution of authors in different creative fields, and the geographic distribution and concentration of registration claimants.
The registration data collected and reported are superior to those relied upon in prior literature, and should therefore prove useful to lawmakers and scholars wishing to measure the effect of copyright law on creativity or otherwise reform our copyright law.
Main Results of the Study
The authors found: *Substantial variation in the data across types of authors and types of creative works. *Firms tend to cluster geographically and register published works, audiovisual works, serials, and computer files. *Individuals tend to create at geographically dispersed locations, and register unpublished, musical and dramatic works.*Registration of text works are evenly split between firms and individuals.*Authors of different genres tend to create at different ages: authors of music tend to be younger than authors of computer programs, who tend to be younger than authors of literary works.
Policy Implications as Stated By Author
Policy implications:*The data extracted from individual registration records are more informative for policy analysis than those previously relied upon, which were extracted from the annual reports of the Copyright Office. *The methodology, data set, and analysis used may help advance scholarly, policy, and legislative work wishing to use registration data as a way to assess the effects of past copyright laws on creativity and to reform the law going forward.
Coverage of Study
Datasets
Sample size: | 2,316,167 |
Level of aggregation: | US Copyright Office Registrations |
Period of material under study: | 2008-2012 |